Princess Tiger
by LozieDeanon
Summary: Wild Tiger finds himself the victim of a NEXT ability that places its victims in a coma... and there's only one way to wake him up. De-anon from the Tiger and Bunny anon meme. Barnaby/Kotetsu, one-sided Karina/Kotetsu.


By now, Barnaby has a little voice in the back of his head, a little conscience-like Kotetsu-voice, that reminds him not to do certain things. Like arrest a seven-year-old girl in a princess costume. Even if she's pretty obviously guilty of a string of petty—yet entertaining—robberies on toy stores. Even if she has a powerful NEXT ability that puts people in comas. Even if she just used that power against his partner, now lying on the ground, absolutely non-responsive to anything around him.

The surprisingly young perpetrator was barely even worth chasing, a young girl with no idea how to navigate the rooftops of Sternbild, but Agnes had cameras trained on the presumptuous princess, all done up in her sparkly pink dress with ribbons and a conical hat. And so, for the sheer spectacle of the world's most unlikely criminal, the heroes had to go chase her. Neither Barnaby nor Kotetsu saw fit to activate their powers, not anticipating the little lady to have a trick up her sleeve.

Kotetsu reached her first, probably hoping to talk her into confession, sparing her the hard fate of juvenile detention, but the girl turned around and blasted him with a blue glow of NEXT power. The veteran hero collapsed, and the little girl continued on. Faced with a choice—go to Kotetsu, or capture the girl—Barnaby instantly chose his partner, lifting his partner into his arms. No matter what Barnaby shouted, no matter how hard he shook, Kotetsu did not stir. Realizing the girl is to blame, Barnaby does a quick logical end-around his conscience: it's not an arrest if he detains the girl, he's not going to get points for it, she won't go to jail, but she _will _tell him what she did to Kotetsu!

She hadn't even made it to the other side of the roof, and all it takes is a few seconds of Hundred Power to head her off. Once Barnaby makes it _crystal_ clear that she just made a huge mistake, the girl shows remorse, though she's distressingly unhelpful. "He's not dead," she insists tearfully. "They're never dead. I'm not bad. I'm not!"

Barnaby's conviction stays firm in spite of tears. "When do they wake up?"

"Mommy woke up…" she sniffs. "I didn't mean to, but Mommy fell asleep, and Daddy yelled… But once he stopped he got really sad instead, and just sat by Mommy for a long time. And he kissed her and she woke up and she's okay."

"What?" Barnaby kneels down to the girl's level. She straightens her conical princess hat and looks Barnaby in the face.

"She was like Sleeping Beauty."

Hero TV helicopters are still hanging around. Barnaby isn't sure if they've announced this conversation as an arrest, but that's not what's important right now. He rises and crosses the roof, the little princess trotting behind him, approaching Kotetsu's motionless suit. He's still a bit tossed about, limbs splayed in random directions, and Barnaby smoothes him out until he's lying on his back, arms by his side, legs straight. Flipping the faceplate open, Barnaby stares down at Kotetsu. He honestly looks asleep. If Barnaby hadn't seen the princess bandit blast him with her powers, he would have assumed he was just dozing, dreaming.

Before he can do anything else, Blue Rose arrives. The idol singer is particularly distressed by Kotetsu's unconscious form. "Tiger!" she cries, running to his side. "What happened?"

Barnaby recaps everything he knows in less than a minute. Blue Rose's eyes widen when Barbany repeats the little girl's "Sleeping Beauty" clue.

"Sleeping Beauty? Like the fairy tale?" she repeats. "Are—Are you sure?"

The little girl interjects, "Yeah. You need true love's kiss."

Blue Rose's cheeks flush red, a surprising contrast to her blue eye shadow. "K-Kiss?"

"Love?" Barnaby repeats.

"True," the girl nods energetically. "True love's kiss."

Barnaby and Blue Rose struggle to find somewhere else to look—not at each other, not at Kotetsu, not at the camera-equipped helicopters spiraling above them. Barnaby's heart is pounding in his ears, and he feels as if his whole soul is suddenly on display. He does love Kotetsu. He's felt it for a while, and it feels so true, he wants nothing more than to volunteer himself as the kisser. But, sensibilities are winning out—no way is Kotetsu in love with him. You can't have true love's kiss without reciprocation.

Can you?

"You're sure it has to be a kiss?" Blue Rose tugs at the scant flaps of fabric that qualify as her costume's skirt. "The handsome prince kissed the… beautiful princess…"

The little girl keeps nodding. "Yeah. It's my favorite story ever. That's how it goes."

"W-Well, I guess… I guess we have no choice," Blue Rose still didn't look at Barnaby. "We can't just leave Tiger, and since I'm the only girl he—"

"Excuse me?" Barnaby interjects suddenly. "What does being a girl have to do with this?"

Blue Rose hadn't expected opposition, and she flounders a bit, explaining her logic. "Tiger isn't a princess! A guy can't be a princess, a guy is a prince! So if the prince is asleep, a princess has to kiss him! I mean, it's not very nice, but we have to do this by the story."

There's a little lick of angry fire in Barnaby's heart. "Of course," he says bitterly. "A princess." Turning to the little girl in her chase-stained princess costume, he gestures to Kotetsu. "Would you do the honors?"

"Kiss a boy? Icky!" The girl shook her head.

"You idiot! I meant me!" Blue Rose exclaims.

"But you don't have a pretty princess hat," Barnaby points out.

Blue Rose points at her Pepsi NEX hat. "This is a tiara! Well, it's kind of a tiara! I can be the princess!"

"You look more like a stripper than a princess."

"I look more like a _what_?"

"A stripper."

"I am not a stripper! I'm the princess! I have to be! Otherwise, Tiger's never going to wake up!"

"Why do you have to be the princess for him to wake up?"

Blue Rose's blush overshadows her frosty makeup. "It has to be… a kiss of love."

Now the Kotetsu-voice insists that Barnaby is not allowed to strangle his fellow heroes, but Barnaby knows no one could tell him not to if Blue Rose is right and Kotetsu wakes up with her kiss, which is most definitely _not_ of love, it's a kiss of stupid teenage infatuation! Unhelpfully, the little princess that got them into this mess suggests, "Try it."

Blue Rose takes a deep breath, which does nothing to calm her flustered appearance, and kneels beside Kotetsu. She starts her lean in, but snaps up again as a Hero TV copter illuminates the scene with a floodlight. She seems to remember that literally everyone in Sternbild is watching her.

"C-Can Agnes tell the cameras to go away?" she whispers.

"If you're truly in love with him, you shouldn't care who sees," Barnaby huffs. If Blue Rose believes that strongly that she should kiss Kotetsu, Barnaby wouldn't let her have it easy. "Well? Are you going to do it or not? You can't screw this up on live TV."

Dared onward, Blue Rose ducks down swiftly and presses her lips against Kotetsu's. Forget strangling, Barnaby wants to snap her in two like a brittle little icicle. A second passes, and then two, and Blue Rose backs away.

"So, um, how was that?"

_Obviously it_ didn't work, _you man-stealing little sl—_

The princess shook her head. "Nope. Mommy woke up really fast after Daddy kissed her. If it worked, he'd be awake by now."

"You're kidding!" Blue Rose insists. "Maybe I should try it agai—"

"Just give up," Barnaby folded his arms. "You're not the right person."

"But if it's not me, who will kiss him?"

Barnaby removes his whole helmet and passes it to the little girl. Blue Rose's failure planted a teensy seed of hope in his heart, and damn him if it wasn't growing stronger. "I will."

"Y-You? You're another guy! The story needs a prince and a princess! It can't have two princes!"

Barnaby kneels on Kotetsu's other side and shoots Blue Rose his best 'back off' glare. "_Or_, it needs true love." The idol huffs and turns away, sore over any one of the multitude of insults Barnaby has inflicted on her tonight.

Careful to support his neck, Barnaby unlatches Kotetsu's helmet and removes it, smoothing aside his partner's hair. Kotetsu sleeps on, undisturbed. It almost hurts how handsome Kotetsu seems, but the sight pales in comparison to the expressions in Barnaby's mind, some from memory, some from fantasy: Kotetsu smiling, Kotetsu laughing, Kotetsu scowling, Kotetsu panicking, Kotstsu contented, Kotetsu watching Barnaby with affection and care. He wants to hear Kotetsu's voice, see him at work, run across the rooftops of Sternbild with him. He wants to hold him and kiss him, and be held and kissed back. And if Barnaby's kiss can't wake him now, all he'll have left is sorrow and regret. That's all he had before Kotetsu came into his life, and that's all he'll have if Kotetsu leaves it.

_This has to work._ Barnaby prays. _You have to wake up. I don't even care if you love me or not, I need you to wake up. I need you, Kotetsu. I need you. I need you. I need you._

Barnaby leans down, his lips hovering half an inch above Kotetsu's. He feels his partner's slow, even breath.

_I love you._

He closes the distance softly, and the world fades away. No scandalized Blue Rose, no shocked little girl witnessing her first gay kiss, no Hero TV helicopters, no ground beneath them, no sky above them, just Barnaby and the sleeping Kotetsu. The texture of Kotetsu's lips surprise Barnaby, though he can't categorized them rough or soft. They're just so Kotetsu, somehow possessing both qualities at the same time. He wishes he could just kiss Kotetsu forever.

But more importantly, he wants Kotetsu awake and able to kiss him back. At some point, Barnaby regretfully decides he's kissed Kotetsu long enough, and he pulls back, a thousand fearful questions running through his mind. What if it didn't work? What if his true love is someone else? What if it's someone they can't find, and Kotetsu stays like this forever? What if it's his wife, dead, never to return? What if—

Kotetsu's nose twitches. His lips part, his domino mask crinkles between the eyebrows, and his eyelids flutter. Finally, the tawny eyes blink open, and the first words out of his mouth are, "…the hell?"

"Kotetsu?" Barnaby whispers.

Kotetsu pulls a face, which Barnaby recognizes as his 'I'm hung over and you just shouted' face. "Too close, pal," Kotetsu mumbles, though there's no force behind it.

Disregarding his partner's observation, Barnaby draws Kotetsu even closer, into a tight hug. The suits prevent Barnaby from actually feeling his partner, but the physical action reassures him. It worked. Kotetsu's awake, he's not gone, he's okay—

—and apparently Barnaby is his true love. Well. They'll sort that out later. The more important thing is, Kotetsu is no longer comatose.

"Yay!" the thief-NEXT-princess that started this all cheered. "You did it! You woke him up!"

"Huh?" Kotetsu looks over Barnaby's shoulder at the girl. "I was asleep?"

"How do you think you ended up on the ground? Idiot!" Blue Rose says bitterly. Barnaby turns his head a little to the side and sees her obviously heartbroken face. Too elated to care much about the feelings of a jilted teenager, Barnaby smirks at her. _I win._

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Kotetsu squirms a little in Barnaby's embrace. "Can you let me up now?"

Barnaby really doesn't want to. Relief is still coursing through every vein in his body, and he's a little afraid that if he lets Kotetsu go, he might lose him again.

"Barnaby kissed you, you know!" Blue Rose blurts, pointing at Barnaby accusingly.

"Eh?" Kotetsu's wiggling intensifies, though Barnaby holds on tight. "Why?"

"My NEXT power turns people into Sleeping Beauty," the little girl explains, clasping her hands together in glee. "And he woke you up with true love's kiss!"

"Kiss?" Kotetsu exclaims.

"_Love_," Barnaby adds.

"True!" the girl finishes. "True Love's Kiss!"

"Bunny, you _kissed_ me? Like—a kiss?"

"So did Blue Rose, but she's not your true love, so it didn't work," Blue Rose glares at the gloating Barnaby. "Then I kissed you, and you woke up."

Now Kotetsu's cheeks turn red. He chews his bottom lip and glances around, trying not to look Barnaby in the face.

"Kotetsu? Are you angry with me?"

"...No," Kotetsu says slowly, and if Barnaby thought Kotetsu waking up again had made his heart soar, this sent him beyond heaven. "It's just—"

Unfortunately, whatever Kotetsu might have said next is cut off by the roar of engines as a nearby Hero TV helicopter reorients itself for a better shot.

"W-Wait! The cameras were rolling?" Kotetsu splutters.

"We're always being filmed for the show."

"You kissed me on TV?"

"I saved your life. Again." _Because I love you._

Kotetsu redoubles his efforts to escape Barnaby's arms, futilely. "Dammit, Bunny! Why the hell did you decide to do that on the roof? You could have gone to a hospital and kissed me there!"

Barnaby sighs happily. Kotetsu's angry about the setting of the kiss than the kiss itself. The chopper drifts closer, and Barnaby can almost see the cameraman inside, training his lens on them.

"I mean it, Bunny! Let me go! Let _go_!"

_Never_. Barnaby adjusts his hold and lifts Kotetsu into a princess carry.

"H-Hey, what are you doing? What are you—_put me down_!"

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty," Barnaby steals one last peck on his lips. "Let's go."

In a rush of Hundred Power, Barnaby leapt off the roof. He'd be inclined to agree with Blue Rose to a certain extent; Kotetsu's not a princess. But, he's Barnaby's princess. And if Barnaby has anything to say about it, they'll have the happiest happily ever after ever.

* * *

><p>"<em>Wild Tiger is down! The young girl has hit him with her NEXT ability! And now Barnaby has given up the chase! Will she use this distraction to escape?<em>"

Kotetsu stares at that night's broadcast, begging God that the events from when he got knocked out to when he woke up weren't as embarrassing as he thought. Already, the TV-Bunny is shaking the TV-Kotetsu concernedly. Prospects do not look good for Kotetsu's pride.

Agnes isn't helping. "Tiger, Hero TV can't force you to enter a relationship with Barnaby, but you really should consider all the options."

"Options?" Kotetsu cringes. TV-Bunny decides to pursue the girl, and catches her in a split second. The arrest graphic plays. In the end, she got sent back home with some fines and a criminal record, but still. Kotetsu thought Bunny knew better than to treat kids like criminals, even criminal-kids.

"This is one of the most talked-about episodes ever. And nothing got destroyed, and no one got hurt. It's incredible. The chat forums are exploding, and it's not just for Barnaby. They're taking notice of you, too."

TV-Bunny and TV-girl approach TV-Kotetsu. And then TV-Blue Rose arrives. Mario narrates that the threat has been neutralized—the _threat_?—and now it's time to help poor, defenseless Wild Tiger. They managed to catch a sound byte of Bunny explaining the girl's powers: someone had to kiss Kotetsu.

"If anything, I'd advise you to keep treating Barnaby as usual. If we announce you two as a couple, we lose all the excitement of unresolved sexual tension. It's much more interesting if you play up denial, leave the audience wondering. Then every so often you to can be a little affectionate to keep them going."

Excitement? Unresolved sexual tension? Denial? _Affectionate? _"This... isn't what being a hero is about... Is it?"

Looking over at Agnes, to his horror, Kotetsu realizes she thinks otherwise. "Hero TV is popular because people react emotionally," she explains. "They feel safe when you arrest criminals. They feel strong when they try to emulate you. And they feel blossoming love when they see heroes experiencing it. It's a perfect twist."

"Agnes, I can't do it. I won't…" His protests are cut off when TV-Blue Rose makes her move. She leans down and kisses him; the crew managed to get a side shot of their lips touching. _For God's sake, I'm twice her age!_

The kiss is brief, thankfully. When she pulls away, Mario resumes narration: "_A kiss from the gorgeous ice princess idol! Just about every man in Sternbild wishes he was Wild Tiger now. But will it be enough?_"

TV-Blue Rose looks to TV-girl for confirmation. She shakes her head.

"_What's this? Blue Rose's kiss can't wake Wild Tiger! What will happen now? Is he doomed to sleep a hundred years?_"

"Who comes up with this corny narration?" Kotetsu grumbles.

"Mario himself, but sometimes I make suggestions," Agnes explains. "Like that one."

"Good grief," Kotetsu slaps a palm against his face.

"Keep watching, Barnaby's about to kiss you."

"I really don't want to see that!"

"I think you do. Trust me."

Kotetsu forces his hand away, fighting his instinct, and looks back at the broadcast. TV-Bunny kneels beside him, removing his suit's helmet, smoothing his hair.

"_Could it be?_" Mario speaks with hushed awe. "_Will Barnaby try to revive his partner with a kiss?_"

Already, Kotetsu's face is uncomfortably hot. Bunny kissed him. It wasn't a joke or mistake, he actually kissed Kotetsu, on the air. But then the broadcast switches to a close-up of Barnaby's face, and Kotetsu pauses.

He knows Bunny's acting face very well, the cool one he uses for the cameras and fans. But he can't see any sign of that cool, composed face as TV-Bunny stares down at TV-Kotetsu. He honesty looks concerned, afraid, as if something terrible was going to happen if he failed. Kotetsu's heart skips, and he wants to reach out and touch Bunny, tell him that it's okay, that he'll always be here, don't worry, Bunny, don't worry. He unconsciously leans forward in his chair as the gentle-faced Bunny on screen closes the distance between himself and his sleeping partner. He pauses barely half an inch above TV-Kotetsu's lips, but then kisses him, softly, strongly. Kotetsu's own mouth twitches a bit. He can't remember anything about his first kiss with Bunny, not through that deep, blank sleep, and he regrets it. He wants to return the kiss, show Bunny that he feels everything—

Harps and violins start playing, shocking Kotetsu from his thoughts. He looks around for the source, but soon realizes the fluffy fairy-tale symphony sound is coming from the TV, accompanying Bunny and Kotetsu's kiss.

"You added music?" Kotetsu bursts.

"Really sets the mood, don't you think?" Agnes comments unapologetically.

"Are you kidding? Why—How—You have music like that just _ready_?"

"Be prepared, as the Girl Scouts say," Agnes flips some of her hair over her shoulder.

"But then why didn't you play it for Blue Rose's kiss!"

"I had a hunch."

"You had a hunch that I'm gay? For _Bunny_?"

"Well, I was right, wasn't I?"

Before Kotetsu's rage can build any higher, Mario's narration interrupts again. "_He did it! Barnaby's kiss has awakened Wild Tiger! The prince has saved his Sleeping Beauty!_" Turning back to the broadcast, Kotetsu watched the "rescue" graphic play, awarding Bunny a hundred points for kissing his partner on live TV.

"That's it!" Kotetsu storms out of the room. "I can't take this anymore! I quit!"

Agnes watches him go, absolutely unfazed. "You'll be back, Princess Tiger," she says to herself, pausing the broadcast just as Barnaby leapt away, his partner cradled tenderly in his arms.


End file.
